Improvement in nails for sole-fastenings



A. VAN WAGENEN.

Nails for Sole-Fastening.

N0.166,663. PatentgdAug.I0,l875

WITNESSES mv f" ZQ...

NFETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEH, WASHINGTON. D. C.

{UNITED STATES PATENT Frien- ALBERT VAN WVAGENEN, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS,

IMPROVEMENT IN NAILS FOR SOLE-FASTENINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,663, dated August10, 1875 application filed May 27, 1875.

OAsE F.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT VAN WAG- ENEN, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Nail for Sole- Fastenings; and 1 do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

Mydesire is to produce a better nail, as a sole-fastening for boots andshoes, than any which has, to my knowledge, been used in the trade.

In carrying out this object the nail is de-' signed with a special viewto have it enter the leather as easily as possible, to have it holdperfectly when in the leather, and to prevent it from turning, andthereby working loose in a word, I want to give the trade a nail thatwill turn out the best work.

I prefer for this purpose a cylindrical nail, because it is easier made,and by my improvement I do not require a shouldered head to prevent thenail from working in under wearing action. cal head and aclinching-point, which may be either flattened on two sides or conical,and between the line which bounds the point and the head I form the bodyof the nail into a series of truncated cones, and combine therewithopposite-side grooves, which terminate before reaching the head to leavethe latter intact. The purpose of these grooves is to prevent the nailfrom turning, either in entering or during wear, by allowing the leatherto sink easily into them, while at the same time they serve to guide thenail straight to its place. The series of short cones form a rack ofhorizontal circular fins to hold the nail from working out, as in suchmovement it would have to overcome so many cylindrical heads, while thesides allow the nail to enter as if it were a smooth surface, similar toa pawl passing over a ratchet, and form so many encircling spaces ofgreater width at the top than I nevertheless form a symmetriand is held,so that the sides of the opening made by the nail in driving it are notrendered ragged, but closely fill the racked sides of the nail, and thusform so many wedges, the action of which is to prevent the nail fromworking into the sole under wear. v

The drawings show such a nail in elevation, A, and an enlarged viewthereof, B. C shows a nail with a conical point, and D a nail with itspoint flattened. The head a maybe either formed cylindrical or by one ofthe cones of the rack, while the clinching-point b is made longer thanthe sides of the cones. This point may be flattened on one instead ofits two sides, but,however formed, its largest portion constitutes oneof the rack-fins. The shortest sides of these fins are indicated by theletter 0, and the longest side by the letter 01, while the encirclingspace 6, into which the leather embeds itself, is shown in verticalcross-section at E. I form, preferably on the opposite sides of thisnail, longitudinal grooves s, or channels deep enough to intersect andseparate the ridges r of the annular fins, and

extending from near the point to near the head, to allow the leather tosink easily therein, and to act as guides to keep said nail straightwhile being driven in, serving at the same time the more importantfunction of keeping the nail from turning, whether in driving or whendriven, so that it could not thereby become loosened and liable to workin or out under theconstant hammering action of a manstread. It isimportant that the head should remain intact, and for this purpose thesegrooves 8 stop short thereof, because, if the head were intersected bythese grooves, it would be weakened and liable to split off in driving,like the nicked head of a screw. As stated, the clinching-point may beflattened on one or both sides, or made conical.

The primary object of my improvement is to produce a nail which, whiledriving easily, on the principle of a smooth-sided pin, has all theadvantages of an angular nail.

In my large experience in the trade I have hunted at such places whereshoe-nails are manufactured and used for such an article as bottom, intowhich the leather embeds itself I have described, but have nowhere foundit.

I know that a nail formed of conic sections, in which the point is oneof such sections, is not new, and I do not claim such a nail. I havealso seen a headed and pointed nail, in which the body is formed of aseries of concentric ridges, but these enter hard and cut the leather inentering; nor do I claim flattening a nail-clinching point on one orboth sides.

1 have described my new nail with special references to sole-fastenings.It is, however, equally applicable for uniting different layers ofleather, for hose, pouches, &c., and wooden, paper boxes, and the like.

These nails may be made from continuous lengths of wire, or in anysuitable manner.

I claim as a new manufacture- 1. A shoe-nail, consisting of a head, aclinching-point, arack of cones, and the side grooves, madesubstantially as described.

2. In a shoe-nail, the combination of side grooves or channels 8 with arack of cones, said channels intersecting said cones in the manner andfor the purpose described.

3. In a shoe-nail having the combination of side grooves or channels 8with a rack of cones, as described, the said side grooves extending fromnear the clinching-point and terminating short of the head, to preservethe head intact for the important purposes stated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have aflixed mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT VAN WAGENEN.

Witnesses A. W. ADAMS, B. S. HENRY.

